You were on the bench for 25 years before you joined JAMS. What skills did you learn there that helped prepare you for a career in alternative dispute resolution?

As a judge, I honed my listening skills: hearing inflection and emotion in voices, observing facial expressions and body language, yet always noting content and context. Those skills, coupled with the respect for the attorney-client relationship, are fundamental to mediation and arbitration, as well as to the trial court.

Tell us more about your experience in public service.

When I graduated from Duke University School of Law, my former dean recruited me to be an honors trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, and I found public service to be a perfect fit. Other than a brief time in private practice, I spent my career in federal, state and local governments, followed by 24 years as a trial judge in state courts. During that time, I tried civil matters involving employment, civil rights, construction, business and charitable organizations, and family issues, as well as the full range of criminal matters.